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As I write this, I know that back in Mumbai, preparations are on for Sridevi’s antim yatra. Even days after the news of her death, I am still coming to terms with the fact that the cinematic icon who I grew up adoring, is no more.

I have replayed in my mind the times spent with my sister dissecting every Sridevi act after each of her movies. The spontaneity, the impeccable acting, the ultimate dance moves, the comedic turns. Those eyes spoke volumes, the mischief in her smile could make anyone’s heart skip a beat, and her very presence on-screen could give any male superstar a run for his money. In a male dominated industry she held her own, at times taking home a bigger pay packet. Yes, she was the first ever ‘female superstar’ of Hindi cinema.

Of course we also spoke of Jaya Prada along with Sridevi: two contemporary competing forces during their prime, both beautiful, powerhouse performers and great dancers. In their famed rivalry, the two really pushed each other to become better at their craft. But what made Sridevi stand apart was her versatility, especially when it came to her mastery over comic timing and even action. From playing a retrograde amnesiac in Sadma, to a contrasting double role of a coy vs a happy-go-lucky girl in Chaalbaaz, to getting into the skin of a ‘nagin’ in the insanely popular snake-woman film Nagina, to the ultimate romantic in films like Chandni and Lamhe, Sridevi nailed every character with her ‘range’ of acting prowess. Fiercely private in her real life - and a known introvert often called an interviewer’s nightmare – it is inexplicable how she flowered in front of the camera, bringing every role to life in a seemingly effortless fashion. As an entertainment journalist back in Mumbai, I still remember, what an uphill task it was to get a Sridevi byte, let alone an interview.

Starting at the tender age of four, Sridevi got to rule the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries both as a child artist and as a lead actor. Her foray into Hindi films kickstarted with the 1979 film Solva Sawan but what catapulted her to instant fame in the north was the 1983 film Himmatwala and its kitschy song-n-dance number Naino mein sapna, sapno mein sajna. Her body of work kept expanding and so did the diversity in the choice of characters that she took on. Here was yet another star from the south, destined to rule the Hindi film industry after the likes of Rekha and Hema Malini.

The other ‘range’ in Sridevi’s acting career was the generations of heroes she was paired opposite: Kamal Hassan, Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, to Salman and Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar right up to Adil Hussain, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. With her 2012 comeback film English Vinglish, Sridevi proved yet again that she was born to act.

The last we saw her on screen was in Mom (2017). And the last we will see of Sridevi will be as herself in SRK’s forthcoming Zero, directed by Aanand L. Rai. Summing up the enigma that was Sridevi?

Na jaane kahaan se aayi hai, na jaane kahaan ko jaayegi? Deewana kise baanayegi ye ladki?

We know the answer to that last question: an entire nation that will never cease to love her.

PRIYANKA TATER, Indian Link Radio

A Nation Mourns

Veteran actress Sridevi, 54, passed away in Dubai after cardiac arrest, engulfing the entire country in a pall of gloom. From Indian stars to Indian political personalities to Pakistani icons, her fans and admirers expressed shock and disbelief.

The Padma Shri recipient passed away in Dubai on the night of Saturday 24 Feb. Sridevi was there to attend the wedding of her husband’s nephew, actor Mohit Marwah.

In a moving gesture, Indian industrial magnate Anil Ambani sent an aircraft to Dubai to bring her body back to India. The funeral took place on Wednesday 28 Feb.

Born in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on August 13, 1963, Sridevi began her career at the age of four in the devotional film Thunaivan. That marked the beginning of a journey in filmdom that saw her work across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi productions, leading her to become one of the most formidable actresses of the 1980s and 1990s in Bollywood.

She is remembered for her performances in some of the iconic Bollywood films like Mr. India, Nagina, Sadma, Chaalbaaz, Chandni, Khuda Gawah, among many others in different Indian languages.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress President Rahul Gandhi condoled the death of the veteran actress saying that she was an incredibly talented and versatile actress.

Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said that “like millions, he will miss her too”.

Speculations Put To Rest

Sridevi’s colleagues from the film industry all expressed a sense of disbelief, even as the speculations began to make the rounds, about ‘irregularities’, especially as it emerged that there was alcohol in her blood at the time of death.

However, the speculations were all put to rest, as the forensic report issued by the prosecutor’s office in Dubai pronounced that Sridevi had died from “accidential drowning” in her bathtub, after losing consciousness. The case had been closed, the prosecutor’s office said.

It took three days for the Dubai police authorities to complete various legal and medical formalities before the body was finally handed over to the Kapoor family. This included taking the statement of her husband Boney Kapoor, the last person to see her alive.

It was also reported by Khaleej Times that the laboratory results revealed that traces of alcohol were found in the blood, revealing that Sridevi was in an inebriated state when she slipped and fell into the bathtub that was filled with water.

The police concluded that there was no clear criminal motive with regard to her death, neither did she suffer a cardiac arrest as it was reported earlier.

‘SRIDEVI TREATED MAKE-UP ARTISTES, OTHERS LIKE FAMILY’

Subhash Shinde, who did Sridevi’s make-up at nephew and actor Mohit Marwah’s wedding in Dubai, says the late actress had “much warmth and positivity” and always treated everyone on a film’s set including make-up artistes, like a family.

“She looked very pretty (at the Dubai event), happy and bright as ever,” Shinde said.

Shinde began working with Sridevi after English Vinglish in 2012. He said she would often ask him if he had had his meals and how his family was doing.

“She had a strong sense of aesthetics,” he recalled. “She had a great sense of colours and shades to complement the entire attire. The colour, ornaments, even the size of her bindi, she had an eye for detailing. In fact, I learnt from her.”

Was she a perfectionist when it came to fashion?

“I wouldn’t say she was a perfectionist, but she exemplified the excellence that comes with perfection. So yes, perfection is the word to define it.”

RAM GOPAL VARMA: THE PRIVATE WOMAN BEHIND THE PUBLIC PERSONA

Sridevi has for long been film-maker Ram Gopal Varma’s muse. Yet, wellknown for shooting off his mouth without thinking, Verma has got into trouble with Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor before. This time round, he may well be doing so all over again, especially with a little piece he wrote recently in which he claimed Sridevi “was a very unhappy woman”.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who directed Sridevi in films like Great Robbery, Govindhaa... Govindhaa... and Hairaan, says that the late actress has been a “very unhappy woman” and her life was a “classic case of how each person’s actual life is completely different from how the world perceives it”.

Sridevi, 54, died on 24 Feb in a Dubai hotel bathroom. The autopsy report called it an “accidental drowning” in the bathtub.

In a personal note on her, Varma says that she was the most desirable woman and the biggest super star of the country but that’s ‘just a part of the story’.

He wrote, “For many, Sridevi’s life was perfect. Beautiful face, great talent, seemingly stable family with two beautiful daughters. From outside everything looked so enviable and desirable... But was Sridevi a happy person, and did she lead a very happy life?”

Varma went on to describe his perceptions of her life, including a dominating and overprotective mother who squandered away her earnings with poor investment decisions, as well as extended family who “betrayed” her, so that she was left penniless when she met Boney Kapoor. (He himself was in huge debt at the time).

Following her mother’s death, Varma claimed, Sridevi fell out with her sister Srilatha who took her to court over the family’s ancestral property.